Google doesn’t even hint at how they’re making these recommendations, though TechCrunch speculates that they’re based on our social graph’s preferences, your Reader Trends and your Web History, if you’re using it. Additionally, they also take into account global popularity: in my popular items, I found tech-type blog posts recommended by >100 people (none of which I’m following or even know), items other blog genres I’m interested in with 3 recommendations, and items I’m not really sure why they’re there with 0-100 recommendations.

Google also adds more related feeds—if you like a feed, they can show you more like it.

These related feeds will also show up in the pre-subscription screen when you put in a feed or blog URL and it brings up the feed.

What do you think? Will you be looking at your recommended items, and if so, will you be left wondering why they’re there?

Gail Russo

How much time should a person devote to reading the blogs they are following? I have hundreds of unread listings at the moment, I certainly don’t need Google’s anonymous suggestions. What I usually do is look at who my favorites are following and sometimes follow them. So here I am on Saturday afternoon going through my Reader… (maybe I need an offline life!)